The White Lotus creator Mike White is getting candid about his decision to return for Survivor 50.
“Survivor 50, that’s a huge deal. It’s a cultural milestone. I don’t want to miss out on something that could be super cool. I never thought it would work with my schedule, but then I found out the dates and I was like, ‘I actually could go.’ That would be so gnarly to go again,” White, 55, said during his Wednesday, February 25, appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
White was the runner-up on Survivor: David vs. Goliath, which aired less than three years before The White Lotus premiered in 2021. News broke in 2025 that White would be returning to the show for Survivor 50, which premiered on Wednesday.
“Because I had such a great time the first time. But then … it’s like childbirth,” he explained. “You forget how totally hellish — not that I have given birth to a child, but you know what I mean. It’s quite hellish. Unless you really want it and you want to just sit in the dirt, in the mud, and die — starve, basically.”
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Jimmy Fallon went on to note that this season of Survivor is subtitled “In the Hands of the Fans,” meaning that fans were able to vote on different aspects of the game — which prompted White to add, “The fans, they suck.”
“The fans are, like, cruel. They are sadistic. I mean, great. Thanks, fans. I love fans. I mean, I love fans. Thank you, fans,” White said, while Fallon asked, “The fans chose to not give you food?”
White added, “No, they didn’t.” He proceeded to give a thumbs-down and say, “Boo.”
When Fallon asked whether he wanted “a cake and champagne,” White explained, “It’s a bit extreme. To have … maybe a little bit of rice. A little kernel of rice.”
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White went on to weigh in on the biggest misconception about the game, noting that the show is “really hard.”
“But you know the truth is the hardest parts [of the show] were the parts that there were no cameras. As long as there were cameras, I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ The cameras give me life. I’m suffering, but people are going to watch this suffering. It’s the moments where you’re waiting to go to a challenge and you’re sitting under a tent and there’s a PA yelling at you and there’s no cameras and you’re just in the dirt, you’re like, ‘Why did I do this? Where are the cameras?’” White said. “I need cameras to suffer.”
Fallon went on to show a clip of White in Survivor 50, where Jeff Probst asked why he decided to return to the show — considering he could be “anywhere right now” given the success of The White Lotus.
“I have major FOMO issues,” White said. “And I knew this was going to be an epic party. … I was like, ‘If you guys are going to be down there, I’m going to be down here too.’ I want a front-row seat. I’m stoked to be here. Thanks for the invite.”
Survivor 50 airs on CBS Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET and can be streamed with the Paramount+ Premium plan.
